Charles Manson’s Cause of Death Confirmed

Death cult leader Charles Manson died as a result of cardiac arrest, respiratory failure and colon cancer, his death certificate confirmed.

TMZ reported that the heart attack was the main contributing factor to Manson's death on Nov. 19 at the age of 83. He’d been in prison since 1971 after orchestrating a series of brutal murders involving his Manson Family cult, including the killing of actress Sharon Tate.

Previously, the California Department of Corrections had stated only that Manson had died of natural causes. The redacted death certificate, obtained via the County of Kern Public Health Services Department, noted that Charles Milles Manson died at the Mercy Hospital in Bakersfield, Calif., and his body was under the charge of the Kern County Sheriff-Coroner. The cardiac arrest had taken place minutes before his death, he’d had the breathing disorder for days beforehand and the metastatic colon cancer had been in his system for months.

Manson’s remains are now the subject of an ownership battle between his family members and associates, according to reports from the Associated Press. There's concern that some parties may want to use the cult leader's body and estate to create a shrine to his memory, making use of his image and the rights to his life story.

“It’s going to be a food fight,” said attorney Adam Streisand, who has been involved with legal procedures over the estates of Michael Jackson and Playboy icon Hugh Heffner. “You have to sort of worry about creating a monument that becomes a focal point for people to exercise their extremist views.”